You might know how it feels – that moment you realize you have a rare plant or animal on your land –it’s SO exciting! Sometimes you’ve made this discovery after years of hard restoration work – you’ve removed brush and burned a prairie remnant, and there it is – that flower you’ve never seen before is peeking up and vindicating your efforts! You feel so rewarded for the hard work and financial investments made.

Other times, the discovery can be daunting, because that species is rare for a reason, usually having to do with declining habitat quality across the broader landscape, so if you want to maintain its presence and viability on your site, you’re going to need to be proactive.

In 2012, DALC established the Erickson Wetlands Conservation Area after purchasing 220 acres on the Pecatonica River from Alex and Mary Erickson. Before this acquisition, DALC had only used conservation easements as a tool for land protection. Now the organization was ready to consider managing our own land, but we needed to start small. Over the years, DALC and dedicated volunteers pulled weeds, cut brush, planted a new prairie, and conducted a few prescribed fires in the site’s oak savanna. This work was important and improved the site, but by 2022, we were ready to do more, and we needed to better understand the site’s wetlands. If we didn’t know what was there, we wouldn’t be well-equipped to prioritize our restoration work across the property.

Wetland ecologists Pat Trochlell and Tom Bernthal surveying along the entry boardwalk (Summer 2022).

Pat and Tom made some great discoveries, including northern manna grass (Glyceria borealis) and the lesser purple fringed orchid (Platantherea psycodes). This grass discovery was significant because the species had never been previously located in LaFayette County. And, while that particular orchid may be called “lesser,” it was as tall as my four-year-old son! Pat and Tom also speculated that past human disturbance – in the form of an old railroad grade cutting through the preserve – had paradoxically spared this sedge meadow from Pecatonica River flooding that would have otherwise inundated the site with invasive seeds. Some of the site’s sedge meadows and marsh were in excellent shape, but other areas were only fair because of altered hydrology and invasions by shrubs and cattails.

The Restoration Journey

To make any restoration journey successful, prioritize your site’s gems, triage your site’s worst weeds, and consider a step-wise, adaptive approach so you can stay focused, make progress where it matters most, and pivot if the site responds differently than you expect.

Pat and Tom’s work determined that to maintain and expand Erickson’s sedge meadows for those special orchids and other plants, DALC needed to reintroduce fire to that area as soon as possible. We also needed to begin removing excessive brush and trees to reconnect the river to the meadows.

Why? From a functional standpoint, fire would not carry from the site’s trail firebreaks through dense shrubs and trees to reach the meadow, and it was impractical to install extensive burn breaks within the meadow itself. Furthermore, removing “predator perch” trees, opening up horizon lines, and removing hard edges along fields and trails creates more diffuse habitat for area-sensitive wildlife like ground-nesting birds that benefit from more space and softer edges. This work also increases biodiversity by expanding the area where sedges, flowers, and grasses can grow.

DALC forestry mowed excessive woody shrubs from part of the sedge meadow’s perimeter in 2024, covering almost 8 acres that first year. In the spring of 2025, DALC staff and volunteers reintroduced fire, burning the 71-acre sedge meadow and emergent marsh unit Tom and Pat surveyed years prior, as well as an adjoining 54-acre oak savanna unit fronting the Pecatonica River.

AFTER forestry mowing, sedges, milkweed, and other herbaceous plants expand in areas previously dominated by shrubs. Forestry
mowing in late 2024 maintained native shrubs like plums, viburnums, and hazelnuts while cutting all dogwood, willow, and invasive shrubs
like honeysuckle and buckthorn.

DALC successfully reintroduced fire to Erickson’s rare sedge meadows in April 2025. DALC Conservation Director Stephanie Judge with burn crew members from right, Andy Bingle (SDG Partnership Coordinator), Shannon Roznoski (DALC Easement Stewardship Manager), and volunteer Ella Derosier.

In the summer of 2025, contractors conducted “woody resprout treatments” across areas mowed the previous fall, specifically targeting herbicide applications to invasive woody shrubs like buckthorn and honeysuckle that had been mowed and burned but that weren’t yet killed.

Last winter, DALC pressed ahead, clearing shrubs and thinning a 1990s-era swamp white oak and tamarack plantation remaining along the meadows’ perimeter. We don’t know what will come up from the seedbank in the plantation, but we expect it will be some mix of weeds and gems. With that likelihood in mind, we have monitored throughout 2026 so we can tackle problems while nurturing good surprises. 

AFTER thinning the plantation in the winter of 2025-26, with a target of moving the area to an open swamp white oak savanna that will host diverse ground-layer vegetation and allow fire to pass through from firebreaks along the trail.

As with any restoration process, this project is a journey – the proverbial marathon and not a sprint. We continually evaluate past progress and challenges, work to maintain our gains, and press ahead unit by unit as capacity allows. We remain inspired by that initial spark and know that any management we provide helps to keep rare species present today and for the future.

February Notes from the Field: Written by Stephanie Judge, Conservation Director

While I know February can be a tough month for many, I love the winter, and I love it most when we have snow! Of course I appreciate snow for many of the traditional reasons – it’s fun for kids to play outside, it’s easier to enjoy winter sports, and it brightens what are otherwise some of our darkest days of the year. But, I also love snow (and cold) because it helps us accomplish important land restoration work!

As climate change brings warmer, less predictable winters, we’re increasingly challenged to conduct timber harvests on frozen ground or to burn piles of invasive shrubs. Happily, the winter of 2025/2026 has provided excellent conditions for many of these important activities. 

 Winter is also a time for site reconnaissance and planning. Frozen ground helps us walk across wetlands without sinking knee deep in muck, scout distances across sites when no leaves block our views, and get out to see land without bugs seeing us. 

Black Walnut harvest at Wild Oaks Preserve.

Photo by Stephanie Judge.

At Erickson Conservation Area in Argyle, where an old plantation of swamp white oaks and tamarack trees was planted back in the ‘90s, we thinned 7 acres into what will eventually become a more naturalized swamp white oak savanna.

Erickson Conservation Area AFTER thinning.

Photo by Stephanie Judge.

And, elsewhere at Erickson, we gathered with volunteers to burn brush piles collected in past years. On this day – the last of January’s intense cold – we enjoyed the sunny 15 degree conditions along with chili heated to boiling in a cast iron pot on the coals.

Thank you to my colleague Shannon for that wonderful treat, and trick, that she learned while stewarding York Prairie State Natural Area near her New Glarus home!

Whether you’re “a winter person” or not, we know this season has been difficult for all of us as individuals, for our communities and for our country. We also know that “hope springs eternal,” and by this late date in February, the days are getting longer, the natural world is waking up, and we can all feel a little more energy to keep going and keep working toward brighter days and a better future. Thank you for all you do to support your neighbors and communities, including this Driftless community. We SO appreciate you!

We are excited to welcome Kevin Mason to the Driftless Area Land Conservancy team as our new Preserves Manager!

Kevins first came to Wisconsin to attend Lawrence University, and aside from a brief chapter in the Pacific Northwest, the state has been home ever since. Over the years, he has built a career centered on restoring landscapes and helping people connect to them in meaningful ways. Most recently, Kevin spent nearly eight years working with Quercus Land Stewardship Services, where he partnered with private landowners, municipalities, and public agencies to design and carry out ecological restoration projects across southern Wisconsin. 

Kevin is especially drawn to stewarding publicly accessible lands and to the many ways people form connections with natural places. He believes those relationships strengthen individual and community wellbeing, and a perspective that aligns closely with DALC’s mission. 

Outside of work, Kevin enjoys spending time outdoors hiking, camping, paddling, skiing, and biking, often alongside his family. He is also a musician and songwriter who finds inspiration in the natural world, and on clear nights, he can sometimes be found in his backyard gazing at distant galaxies through a telescope.

We are grateful to welcome Kevin to DALC, and look forward to the care, curiosity, and leadership he will bring to our preserves and trails across the Driftless Area!